City of Blue Island Think Outside the Loop
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Blue Island residents can now check in to see the latest 2010 Census mail participation rate information. From now through May 3, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau will publish daily mail participation rate data in the form of maps and tables at 2010census.gov. The data are tabulated based on the number of forms that are mailed back.
We challenge Blue Islanders to top our Census 2000 mail participation rate. You only have a few short weeks to complete and return your census form, so please take 10 minutes and fill it out. We are already lagging behind neighboring communities, with among the lowest rates in the area. Filling out and mailing back a census form has great implications. Data collected during the 2010 Census will provide critical information about who we are as a community and identify our needs for the future.
Census data are used to reapportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and for the subsequent redistricting of state and local governments. Census data also help to determine how more than $400 billion per year in federal funding is distributed to tribal, state and local governments to fund services for people in need. Data from the 2010 Census will help establish locations for hospitals, senior centers and facilities for people with disabilities. Data will also help forecast transportation needs, such as new roads and public transit options.
One of the shortest census forms in U.S. Census history, the 2010 Census form asks 10 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. Responses to the census form should include everyone who will be living at that address as of Census Day, April 1, 2010, the official day of the population count. It is not necessary to wait until Census Day to return the census form, however. Forms should be returned as quickly as possible.
Mailing back a form ensures an accurate count and lowers the cost of the 2010 Census by reducing the number of census workers who must go door-to-door to collect census data. About $85 million is saved for every one percent increase in mail participation. Additionally, the Census Bureau saves $60-$70 per census form returned by mail.
